Lahore, May 20

Lashkar-e-Toiba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged with abetment to murder of 166 people who died in the carnage, a Pakistan anti-terrorism court ruled today.A senior official said the court did not allow cross-examination of the suspects. The prosecution had filed an application in the anti-terrorism court, Islamabad, two months ago, requesting it to make an amendment to the charges against the suspects of abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage. The trial court had in March reserved the verdict. As many as 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and more than 300 injured in the attack in November 2008 by 10 Pakistan terrorists. — PTI

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Toronto

Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have found three effective methods involving statins and antihypertensives, which may prevent heart attacks and stroke worldwide.

Scientists from Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Canada studied more than 12,000 patients from 21 countries to evaluate drugs that can prevent cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

These diseases lead to 18 million deaths and about 50 million heart attacks and strokes globally every year, researchers said.

“These are incredibly important findings with potential for significant global impact. If just 10 per cent of the world’s population at intermediate risk of CVD is impacted, we are talking about 20 to 30 million people who could be helped by these drugs,” said Salim Yusuf from PHRI.

The three methods examined included two forms of therapy – statins, a group of cholesterol-lowering drugs, and antihypertensives, a class of drugs used to treat high blood pressure. In addition, a combination of statins and antihypertensives was reviewed, researchers said.

The study involved 228 centres looking at the effects of the three treatments in people at intermediate risk of, but without, clinical heart disease.

Statins proved to significantly and safely reduce CVD events by 25 per cent in patients at intermediate risk without CVD, researchers said.

Antihypertensives did not reduce major CVD events overall in the population studied, but did reduce such events in the group of people with hypertension, but not in those without hypertension, they said.

When combined, statins and antihypertensives reduced CVD events by 30 per cent – with a 40 per cent benefit in those with hypertension, suggesting that patients with hypertension should not only lower their blood pressure but also consider taking a statin.

“Treatment with a statin was remarkably safe and beneficial in our study, regardless of cholesterol or blood pressure levels, age, gender or ethnicity. We are incredibly encouraged by the study’s results,” said Jackie Bosch from McMaster University.

“These simple methods can be used practically everywhere in the world, and the drugs will become even cheaper as more and more systems and people adopt these therapies,” said Yusuf.

The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. —PTI

Major Amit Deswal

Imphal, April 14

The body of Major Amit Deswal, who was killed in an encounter yesterday, was today recovered from a remote place in Tamenglong district in Manipur and being flown to Imphal, Army officials said.

The body will then be taken to Surheti in Jhajjar district of Haryana via New Delhi, Army officials said.

Major Deswal of 21 Para SF was killed in a gunbattle with ZUF militants in densely forested Nungba area during a combing operation undertaken by Rashtriya Rifles and Special Forces personnel.One militant was also killed in the encounter.Deswal is survived by wife and a three-and-a-half years old son.For the time being, the combing operation, which was going on for the last few days, has been called off by the Army, the officials said. — PTI

About Martyr

Maj Amit Deswal was commissioned on 10 Jun 2006 into Regt Of Arty. After his basic service he recognised that his calling is somewhere more adventurous.. He opted for Special Group at first but finally opted and was selected and marooned into the coveted Special Forces. .
He joined the elite unit in Jan 2011.He was physically robust which was reflected in his performance at the ‘Ghatak Course ‘, where he secured ‘ Commando Dagger – Best Student’   at 8 yrs of service .
He got inducted in Manipur for Op Hifazat II in Jan 2016.
After relentless hard work combined with a superior tactical acumen, the officer homed on to eliminate the leadership of NSCN K and ZNF cadres. With his Cdo spirit at helm he followed them and in an ensuing gunfight on 13 April 2016, he sustained two GSW in stomach. Despite grieviously injured the offr shot down the top militant Cadres at last Light in Tamenglong District. The Bravegeart breathed his last in the true traditions of a Warrior, a Commando , fighting till the End.

Paramilitary jawans patrol a curfew-bound area of Main Chowk, Handwara, on Thursday. — Tribune photo: Amin War

Srinagar, April 14

Curfew-like restrictions continued for the second day in parts of Kashmir and mobile Internet services were on Thursday suspended in some areas as tension prevailed in the Valley following the killing of four persons in action by security forces during violent protests since Tuesday.

Strict restrictions have been imposed in Kupwara town, Kralgund, Handwara, Magam and Langate areas in north Kashmir to maintain law and order, a police official said.

He said the restrictions were imposed following the death of three persons during protests against alleged molestation of a girl by a soldier in Handwara town on Tuesday. Another youth was killed in Drugmulla area of Kupwara during protests against the Handwara incident yesterday.

Restrictions also continue in six police station areas of Srinagar city, where sporadic incidents of stone-pelting were reported through the day yesterday, the official said.

He said the affected police station areas include Safakadal, Maharajgunj, Khanyar, Nowhatta, Rainawari and Maisuma.

Normal life remained affected in the Valley due to a strike call by separatist groups. Markets remained closed while public transport was off the roads due to the strike.

Authorities have suspended mobile Internet services in north Kashmir areas to curb the menace of rumour mongering, the official said.

Although the situation in most of the Valley has been peaceful so far, isolated cases of stone-pelting have been reported from some parts, including south Kashmir’s Kulgam town, he said.

A cab driver was injured in a stone-pelting incident in Kulgam, the official said. — PTI

Vishwamitra Tandon

It has been more than 25 years, but that morning is clearly etched in the memory of Pilibhit Hindi daily Amar Ujala’s bureau chief Vishwamitra Tandon, as if it had happened yesterday. Questioning the police version, he probed deeper to uncover the real story of the three fake police encounters and the fourth one which till date has not been officially admitted. Quitting journalism in 2005 after resigning from his job, Tandon now lives in Pilibhit. He spoke to Shahira Naim about the CBI court judgment on the Pilibhit fake encounter.How did it all start?It was the morning of July 13, 1991, when a representative of Madhotanda village in Puranpur subdivision in Pilibhit, Islamuddin Khan, rushed to my house with the information that the police had killed several Sikh youths in a fake encounter. Before I could confirm the news from my sources, I was told that Pilibhit Superintendent of Police RD Tripathi had called mediapersons to his residence at 11 am.What did the police have to say officially?The SP’s face said it all. He was in high spirits. Unusually warm, he enthusiastically narrated what he described as a historic achievement by the state police. He said on the night of July 12 the police had killed 10 dreaded terrorists in three encounters.  Some of us congratulated him as the Terai region those days was in the grip of terrorism, a Punjab spillover. But aware of the UP police’s working, the daredevilry seemed hard to accept. It was strange that not a single policeman was injured in the encounters. I sought the names and addresses of those killed from the SP on the plea that I needed these for my news story.When I returned from the press briefing, Islamuddin was still waiting for me in my office  By now another source had informed me that a Sikh family from Amariya subdivision in Puranpur, who was in the same bus as the Sikh youths who were later killed, had been offloaded and sent home. He was said to be a witness to the entire sequence of events.So did he help you in the breakthrough?Far from it. In the sultry July heat, Islamuddin drove me to that Sikh family’s house in Amariya on his motorcycle. Upon reaching there, we found them working in their fields. When we asked them about the incident, they bluntly told us that we had been misled. Such was the police terror. Disappointed, we were returning when a Sikh youth stopped us. He told us that one of the slain youths, Narender, was dragged out of the bus, the police ignoring his mother’s protest. He said she would tell us the truth as she now had nothing to lose.We reached Pistaur village where Narender’s mother Joginder Kaur was sitting on a charpoy. She had been crying. She said the Amariya family was a witness to the incident but may not have spoken for fear of the police. We went back to the family. This time they agreed to tell all. We were told the Sikh youths were offloaded, their hands tied, and driven away in a vehicle and later killed deep in the jungles. So you had your story with you?I did but it was difficult to keep it exclusive. I went straight to Bareilly and spoke to my editor. He immediately sent me to the then regional desk in-charge Sunil Shah. We discussed how to publish the story while protecting our sources as well as me. It was too late. So it was decided that the story would be carried the next day. I returned to Pilibhit and travelled 57 km to Bareilly the next day. It was decided that the story would be a first-person account, titled ‘My son was killed in a fake encounter’. From here started the long struggle for justice.Now that the 47 policemen have been sentenced to life, how do you feel?I am happy for the victims’ families. But I regret the manner in which high officials have gone scot free. Could such an exercise by several police stations have been executed without the knowledge of senior officials right up to the DGP level? Neither the then DGP Prakash Singh or the SP, who so joyously claimed to have eliminated terrorists, or the Additional SP have been even reprimanded.Did you keep in touch with any of the families during the trial?I knew the family of victim Talwinder  Singh of Navadia Banki village.The officials never admitted to have  killed him. When gaps in the police version started emerging during the early stage of the investigation, the Supreme Court made the UP Police pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to Talwinder’s parents, but they had migrated to Canada by then. Talwinder’s sister Roopinder Kaur still lives here.

Looking back

• On July 12, 1991, a bus carrying Sikh pilgrims was intercepted by the UP Police led by Pilibhit Additional SP Pilibhit
• 11 Sikh youths were dragged out and killed in the early morning of July 13 in three fake encounters
• On a PIL by then Supreme Court advocate RS Sodhi, the apex court entrusted the investigation to the CBI
• The initial charge-sheet of June 12, 1995, indicted 57 policemen under several Sections of the IPC but 10 died during the trial
• On April 4, 2016, a CBI court sentenced the 47 cops to life imprisonment in the case